list_discussions
List discussions for a repository or organisation.
This record as markdown: /tools/github/list-discussions.md
What list_discussions does on GitHub
AI agents call list_discussions to retrieve information from GitHub without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
repo | string | — | Repository name. If not provided, discussions will be queried at the organisation level. |
after | string | — | Cursor for pagination. Use the endCursor from the previous page's PageInfo for GraphQL APIs. |
owner | string | — | Repository owner |
orderBy | string | — | Order discussions by field. If provided, the 'direction' also needs to be provided. |
perPage | number | — | Results per page for pagination (min 1, max 100) |
category | string | — | Optional filter by discussion category ID. If provided, only discussions with this category are listed. |
direction | string | — | Order direction. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why list_discussions is rated Low
This tool performs a query/list operation to retrieve discussion data. There is no indication of creating, modifying, deleting, or executing operations. The verb 'list' is characteristic of Read category tools. The severity is low because retrieving discussion metadata poses minimal risk even if misused by an AI agent.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_discussions' and description 'List discussions for a repository or organisation' indicate retrieval of existing data with no modification or side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs list_discussions safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and GitHub, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For list_discussions, this is the rule to start with:
list_discussions is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect GitHub, apply this rule, and every list_discussions call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about list_discussions
List discussions for a repository or organisation. It is categorised as a Read tool in the GitHub MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
list_discussions accepts 7 parameters: repo, after, owner, orderBy, perPage, category, direction. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the GitHub MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_discussions: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches GitHub. Nothing to install.
list_discussions is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_discussions rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for list_discussions. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
list_discussions is provided by the GitHub MCP server (oci:ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:1.3.0). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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